42 days to a better body? Well Rounded Health and Fitness offers 'Project 42'

Dick Blume/The Post StandardCarl Schaus, from Liverpool, in foreground, and Jeanette Montclair, next to him, from Cicero, at 5 a.m. class at Well Rounded Health and Fitness. They are part of "Project 42."

It's 5 a.m. in the snowy cold before dawn, but the parking lot at Well Rounded Health and Fitness in East Syracuse is packed. Inside people rotate through machines, getting in their workouts before the day starts.

They were lured to the gym by trainer Jeramy Freeman's promise: "Give me 42 days and I'll turn you into a sleek and sculpted, unstoppable powerhouse." They paid $1,480 to be part of "Project 42," now in its fourth year. This is Day Five. They will be here each of the next 37 mornings.

It may sound like one of those TV Infomercials, but Project 42 is Freeman's creation, and he doesn't accept just anyone. He's looking for people with a goal of major change. He's looking for people who are severely out of shape, not just those who have a muffin top to whittle. And he wants people with positive attitudes.

A sign on the wall explains: "The difference between having good results and extraordinary results is attitude."

Dick Blume/The Post StandardClaudia Tooley working out on rowing machine at Well Rounded Health and Fitness 5 a.m. workout class. She is part of Project 42.

He has a notebook full of "before" and "after" photos of his success stories -- women who dropped dress sizes, a man who developed rippling abs. Still, I had to ask, "Are you saying you can help people lose 42 pounds in 42 days?"

His answer: "What we focus on is showing people how to make change quickly."

Freeman is a professional body builder. He and his wife, Kim opened the corporate-style Well Rounded, at 6400 Old Collamer Road, last April and filled it with arc trainers, treadmills and ellipticals and machines that target legs, chest, back, abdomen and shoulders. Membership is $49, and then $39 per month. Personal training sessions cost more. Project 42 is a separate program, which includes a 6-week membership.

Dick Blume/The Post-StandardTom Sherlock, left, Neal Prince, in white t-shirt, and Melody Eldred working out at 5 a.m. class at Well Rounded Health and Fitness.

The gym also has a rock-climbing wall to challenge patrons who have never thought of themselves as rock climbers. It's a reminder "that they have to step out of their comfort zone every day," Freeman says.

"We want you to set a goal that you feel is literally out of reach, the picture in your mind that gives you excitement," he says. "That's the picture, right there, that literally keeps them on track."

It might be to lower your cholesterol, to lose weight, to control diabetes, to get race-ready, to rock a bikini.

Project 42 participants keep online journals. If they skip a workout, they get a phone call asking why. They get customized nutrition plans and individualized cardio recommendations.

Dick Blume/The Post-StandardCharles and Patty Stewart, from Phoenix, doing the 5 a.m. workout at Well Rounded Health and Fitness.

They get "points" throughout the program for fat they lose and muscle they gain, and the person on Day 42 with the best body composition -- as determined by points -- wins a trip for two to Hawaii and a collection of other prizes.

Freeman says he helps participants develop an athlete's mindset, which isn't about lifting more or running farther but about looking forward and asking, what can I do better tomorrow?

Speaking of ... what happens on Day 43?

That's up to the individual.

Freeman says participants who stop working out and go back to previous bad habits will forfeit their progress. But they don't have to maintain the intensity of the previous six weeks, either. He suggests staying at least half as active as during Project 42.